REA Reaction

Play Cannibal’s Den as if you were desperate to get out of it. If you think of it as a traditional escape room as we’ve come to understand them, it’s missing a lot. If you think of it in a more literal sense, as a room you really want to escape, then it has something to offer.

I get excited when I see games that play differently or offer something new with the escape room format. With that in mind, I didn’t enjoy Cannibal’s Den. It was different, but I didn’t trust the design.

QUEST ROOM played it loose with escape room rule and safety standards, especially early in the game. This made us uncomfortable and perpetually question how far we were supposed to push the boundaries.

Additionally, once we grokked how Cannibal’s Den wanted to be played, we breezed through this game and it felt entirely too short.

I can see some players absolutely loving this game, and there were some great moments… But neither the gameplay nor the volume of content did it for me.

Who is this for?

Adventure seekers

Scenery snobs

Horror fans

Survivalists

Any experience level (but newbies should know that this game’s approach to rules and gameplay is atypical)

Why play?

Detailed, intense set design.

Desperate, survival-based gameplay.

A fantastic late-game sequence (if you don’t accidentally skip it).

Story

We had been captured and locked up by a deranged serial killer. A technical malfunction with one of his favorite toys had delayed our execution while he attempted to get it fixed. We had to escape.

Setting

Cannibal’s Den was staged within the torture/ murder dungeon of our captor. It was dim, dingy, and bloody.

QUEST ROOM does a fantastic job with their sets and Cannibal’s Den was no exception. Every environment we set foot in looked great, in a gruesome sort of way.

Gameplay

QUEST ROOM’s Cannibal’s Den was an atypical escape room that put an emphasis on reacting to the situation and “surviving.” Once we realized how Cannibal’s Den needed to be played, we sailed through it with ease. Figuring out the play-style was the greatest challenge.

Core gameplay revolved around observing and making connections, and dexterity.

Analysis

+ Cannibal’s Den opened dramatically.

– The opening was uneven. The drama wasn’t equally forceful from the different vantage points. Some players could experience and contribute much more than others.

+ The set of Cannibal’s Den was fantastic. It was disgusting in all the right ways.

+ Cannibal’s Den asked us to think situationally. It offered a different type of gameplay.

– It would be possible to escape Cannibal’s Den without triggering this fantastic sequence.

– There wasn’t a lot of content within Cannibal’s Den.

– Cannibal’s Den was full of red herrings.

– QUEST ROOM really loves including interactions that break the traditional rules of escape rooms. It’s their thing, it seems. Cannibal’s Den pushed this to a place where I didn’t take an action without a hint because it didn’t seem safe, correct, or respectful. This type of interaction design teaches new players the wrong lessons about escape rooms in general, especially since the interaction wasn’t properly clued.

? Cannibal’s Den asked us to come to a few specific conclusions that made sense within the context of the situation and take actions based on those conclusions. Some of the actions felt less than comfortable. Your mileage with this style of gameplay will vary.

– The ending took us by surprise. Cannibal’s Den just kind of ended. We had a lot of time left and it seemed like there must have been other challenges in the space, but there weren’t any.